Aligning the Purpose, Function & Mission of a Historically Disadvantaged South African Public University: The Case of the University of Venda

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have recently come under increased pressure to internationalize their campuses through increasing study abroad offerings and international student recruitment and retention rates. The internationalization of higher education however, has mostly been theorized from a Euro-American perspective, often not taking into account actors in periphery contexts. This paper highlights the important role of an emergent voice within the field that relies strategically on its third mission to balance transnational pressures to internationalize and local demands for education equity. Drawing on insights from a mixed-methodology case study at a historically disadvantaged public South African university, it is argued that this institution’s increased reliance on non-academic stakeholders within their internationalization decision-making processes, holds together these conflicting imperatives.